MR. McCLELLAN: All right, let me give you an update on the President's
morning. The President did participate in a video conference with
federal officials. And let me tell you who all was on the video
conference call. The President was on the video conference, obviously,
here from Crawford. Joining him from Crawford were Deputy Chief of
Staff Karl Rove and Deputy National Security Advisor J.D. Crouch, and
Secretary Card was on the video conference from Maine. He is returning
back to D.C. today, as well. The Vice President was on from Wyoming.
Back in Washington, at the White House, you had Secretary Chertoff and
Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson. You also had Homeland Security
Advisor Fran Townsend, Claude Allen, who is overseeing the White House
Task Force, Dan Bartlett, and other staff was on, as well, back in
Washington. And then in the region, you had Mike Brown, Under Secretary
Mike Brown, participating in the video conference.

The meeting began with an operational update from Mike Brown. Mike --
well, they discussed the options for an evacuation of the Superdome in
New Orleans, and the people that have been -- that were moved there
originally. They also discussed the issues relating to the flooding
going on in New Orleans, and Mississippi, as well. And Mike talked
about the work going on to fix the breaches in the levees. And so
there's a good bit of discussion about what they were looking at doing
for the levees, to fix the levees, and they're working with the Corps of
Engineers in that regard.

They also talked about the security situation. As you're all aware,
marshal law has been declared in Mississippi and Louisiana. And they
talked about the National Guard response to that, as well. And then
they talked about the coordination of the response efforts within the
federal government. And the President wanted to make sure that Mike was
getting all the cooperation he needed from all the different agencies
within the federal government on the ground. And Mike expressed that he
was getting good cooperation within the federal government.

The President -- and then the President talked during the meeting about
really two areas that he was focused on -- one, the immediate, urgent
needs on the ground, and how the response and recovery efforts are
going, and making sure that we're doing everything within our power in
the federal government to help support the state and local efforts.

Obviously, you have a large number of people that have been displaced,
that are likely to be displaced for a long period of time. And that was
the second area the President really wanted to make sure that we're
focused on, and that is continuing to develop a long-term strategy for
addressing the issues involved here, particularly the displacement of
people.

And they also talked about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the loans
or the exchanges of oil to address the disruption in the supply.

Let's see. Just so that you all know, I think a couple of things that
might be of interest to you all, just so you can know what the federal
government is doing and how we're responding. In terms of the
operational aspects, I think you should look at it this way: Secretary
Chertoff is in charge of overseeing the operational side of things from
Washington, D.C. Under Secretary Brown is in charge of overseeing the
operational aspects from the region. And then you have the White House
task force, which is really more of a -- it's really a coordinating
body, and it's not an operational body. And that's being overseen by
Claude Allen, who is head of the Domestic Policy Council.

And the President, this afternoon, when we get back, as you are aware,
will be chairing a meeting of that task force. He will receive a more
specific update on some of these areas that I just mentioned. At the
end of that, we will have pool coverage.

Oh, a couple of other things, too. As you all are aware, Secretary
Chertoff declared this an incident of national significance, which means
that the national response plan that we have developed has been
activated. This is the first time it's ever been activated. It's
really there for major disasters or emergencies that really overwhelm
state and local resources, and require coordination across the federal
government to help the state and local efforts that are going on. And
it enables us to really fully mobilize all agencies within the federal
government under the Department of Homeland Security, under his
oversight.

I think that's it.

Q There really are some pretty grave concerns about the future of New
Orleans, and as you know, it's one of the country's great cities. What
can the President say to provide some sort of comfort or reassurance
about the future of New Orleans and the rest of the region, of course,
too?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think part of it is what he has been saying over
the last couple of days. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those in
the affected communities, those who have been displaced. This is a very
difficult and trying time for people in the communities, and the
President is focused, first and foremost -- and this is one of the
things he discussed in the meeting, as well, was making sure that right
now we're focused on saving lives, and a close second to that is
sustaining life. The first priority is saving lives, and right after
that the priority is sustaining life.

There are a lot of people that are in need right now, and the federal
government is making sure that from our standpoint we're prioritizing
what the most urgent needs are, and there are search and rescue teams in
the area, there are medical assistance teams in the areas to make sure
that we're focused on that priority of saving lives. Then in terms of
sustaining life, that means making sure that we're getting supplies and
equipment to those who need it, including water, ice, generators, meals
and things of that nature.

Q Are you planning an emergency supplemental to help pay for this?
Is that something that you guys are right now crafting?

MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, I think that they're -- I know that there is
discussion that is ongoing on that. And, certainly, I would expect a
supplemental is something that is going to be needed in a situation like
this. Obviously, you want to first assess what the needs are, and make
sure you have a good idea of what those needs are. There's money
available for the urgent needs right now, and resources available. But
this is a major catastrophe, and we are certainly going to do everything
from the standpoint of the federal government to make sure that the
needs are met as best we can from our standpoint. This is going to
require ongoing coordination and cooperation with state and local
authorities.

Q Scott, this declaration of an incident of national significance, is
that just a bureaucratic declaration, or is there real clout there?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I mean, this was part of the national response plan
we developed, I believe it was back in -- finalized back in 2004. I'd
have to double check that. You could double check with the Department
of Homeland Security. But like I said, this really enables us to -- or
the Department of Homeland Security to pull together all agencies -- all
the relevant agencies to fully mobilize our resources and coordinate
under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security. So it does
have some important significance.

Q CNN is saying Friday is the day for the President to go down there.

MR. McCLELLAN: There's nothing final at this point. There continue to
be some discussions where, obviously, as you heard from yesterday, from
Governor Barbour, we don't want to do anything that would be disruptive
of the immediate needs that people are trying to meet. We want to make
sure that the urgent needs are being met, that the assistance is getting
to those who need it right now. And so we're still in some discussions
with governors and officials in the area about when would be an
appropriate time for the President to come and visit. I do expect it
will be the latter part of the week. Whether that's Friday, Saturday, I
just couldn't tell you at this point. We haven't made a final -- we
haven't made a decision, just because we're still in discussion with
those officials.

Q How important do you think it is for him to make that appearance?
I mean, what does it provide for the people down there, for him to go?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think this a time when all Americans really need to
come together and do all that we can to support those who have been --
those in the Gulf state region that have been impacted by this natural
disaster. This is, I think it's becoming clear to everyone, that this
could well be the worst natural disaster in our nation's history. And
we hear stories about neighbors helping neighbor, people helping to
rescue their neighbors who have been trapped, and people helping seniors
who aren't able to move around as freely as they would like, help to
rescue them.

So this is really a time for people to come together. And the President
is going -- will visit the region on behalf of the American people to
get a first-hand look at the ongoing response and recovery efforts, as
well as to hear from people on the ground -- those who are involved in
the response efforts, as well as those who have been impacted by it.

Q Any point in flying over the region today on the way back? I mean,
is that something that was discussed?

MR. McCLELLAN: We'll keep you posted. I may have more to update you on
here, shortly.

Q Is the President planning on addressing the nation involving this
or any other energy --

MR. McCLELLAN: Someone told me about a Drudge report this morning, and
I think if you look further down in that report, at least I was told
that it had another anonymous administration official disputing the
claim. I don't know where that came from, so I don't know what that's
about. This is a time when charitable organizations that help with
relief efforts are in need of more resources, and the American people --
there are a lot of ways for the American people to help. And this goes
back to Jennifer's question. There are a lot of ways for the American
people to help, and it's also a time, like I said, to really just come
together and support the ongoing efforts there. But I think some of
those agencies, like I know the Red Cross has been urging -- saying what
their needs are really are donations, more than anything, so that they
can get more resources into the area and help.

Q Has he talked to anybody in the region, any governors or mayors or
senators, today?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't believe so. I know that Secretary Card this
morning, in addition to speaking with Mike Brown even before this video
conference meeting, spoke with the mayor of New Orleans. And he's been
-- I know Secretary Card has been in touch with other officials. I
think that from the President's standpoint, it's the video conference,
but I'll double check with him when he gets here.

Q How long is that video conference?

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me double check the time.**

Q Would you say the President goes back to Washington well rested?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, as you all know, this has been, as usual, a fairly
busy month. There are a lot of important priorities going on, and we --
here in Crawford, we have the Western White House. I mean, the White
House just picks up and moves with the President. And he has kept a
pretty busy schedule this month, and he has also remained focused on a
number of important priorities for the nation.

Q Does he need a vacation?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think those of you who travel with the President
recognize that this is not what you would call a vacation. This is the
President's home, he always enjoys coming here. But when you're
President, you're President 24/7. And he always enjoys returning to
Texas, he always enjoys getting out and traveling around the country and
hearing from people out in the heartland, and what's on their minds.

Q Okay, thanks.

MR. McCLELLAN: Okay, thanks.

** The video conference lasted approximately half an hour.

* * * * *

MR. McCLELLAN: Okay, just to update you on the flyover. He was --
you'll have the still photos that will go out from the stills that were
up there, you'll have pictures of him. But he was sitting up in the --
on the left side of the plane, the front part there, where the Secret
Service detail usually sits, and looking out at all the hurricane damage
along the Gulf coast region.

He spent about 35 minutes there, in that seat. Some White House staff
joined him different parts of it, from Karl Rove to J.D. Crouch, to
myself. One of the Air Force pilots came down and was telling them
where -- which cities and communities we were passing over.

It started with, as you all saw, with New Orleans. And we can see --
and the President was pointing out some of the different structures
within the town, like the Superdome. You could see the skin of the roof
peeled back from the storm. In different parts we saw some helicopters
that I guess were involved in some of the search and rescue efforts off
in the distance.

Then we saw a lot of the real devastation after we passed some of that
downtown area. Even in the downtown area you could see the highways
where they just disappeared into the water. And then we got into some
of the neighborhoods that were really devastated, and you could see the
water all the way up to the roofs. The President, when we were passing
over that part of New Orleans, said, "It's devastating, it's got to be
doubly devastating on the ground." And he pointed out some of the
neighborhoods that I just mentioned, and pointed out -- there's a
shopping mall, I think it was, we were trying to figure out what it was,
and we thought it was a shopping mall that was under a lot of water.

Q "It's devastating, it's got to be doubly devastating on the
ground."

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. And then we came up on -- after we passed New
Orleans, and I think we passed Slidell, then it wasn't too far after
that when we were in Mississippi that we came upon communities that --
where the houses were just totally destroyed. The President made a
comment saying, it's totally wiped out, when he looked down at this one
community, where you can see the homes that were just in pieces.

Q Do you have a name on that one?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I don't. It was a small community, just not too far
past Slidell though.** And just some homes where there was just nothing
but slabs left.

Q In Mississippi, right?

MR. McCLELLAN: Mississippi, that's correct. There was a bridge that
had been wiped out. The President pointed out this one church that was
still standing, but all the homes around it there were completely wiped
out. There's a causeway we saw that was in pieces that the President
pointed out.

Then in Gulfport you could see some of the casinos that had been
damaged, you could see some boats that were across like a highway in
this one part. We saw -- when we were over, I think it was Keesler, we
could see some C-17s that I guess were -- cargo planes that were brining
in supplies, I guess, to the area.

Q Where was that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Keesler.

Q Do you have the spelling?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll get someone to double-check the spelling for you.
I don't know. I just made a note of it. We came over Biloxi,
Pascagoula. That's really -- that's the readout.

And then there were some thunderstorms in the area, so we were going
around Mobile, for some -- I think there were some thunderstorms
somewhere in the area.

Q So he didn't see Mobile?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, we didn't really see Mobile.

Q Do you know how low we were?

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me double-check that.

Q Especially around New Orleans --

MR. McCLELLAN: We started off about 5,000 feet. I think we were able
to get a little bit lower. But the pilots on Air Force One were just --
they were in close communication with others on the ground to make sure
we weren't in any way disrupting what was going on there, in terms of
the response and recovery efforts.

Q As far as you know --

MR. McCLELLAN: I know we had, initially going in we had clearance of
5,000 feet we would be fine, and we wouldn't be in the way in any sense,
and then we were going to check as we got closer. But I'll double-check
that and let you know.

Q I think we were lower than that.

MR. McCLELLAN: It seemed like we were lower. I know they weren't going
to go below 2,000 feet.

Q When he was governor of Texas, did he ever see anything like this?
Has he ever --

MR. McCLELLAN: He did. I wasn't working for him at the time, but I
know he certainly has toured damage. I don't know, when you say,
"anything like this," I don't know about this, because as I said
earlier, this is becoming clear to everybody that it could be the worst
natural disaster in our nation's history. Just how widespread the
damage is and the devastation, we just don't know about how widespread
the loss of life was.

Q Was he surprised by anything in particular about the scope of it?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think when we were looking at it, it was more the
President and staff kind of pointing out different communities or
neighborhoods, structures, as I mentioned. There wasn't a whole lot of
conversation going on. I think it was very sobering to see from the
air, and I think at some points you're just kind of shaking your head in
disbelief to see the destruction that has been done by this hurricane.

All right. I'll check on the --

Q Scott, can you say if the President requested this fly-over?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President certainly wanted to do it. I think that
it had been discussed among the staff with the President, but the
President certainly wanted to do it, as long as we weren't going to be
disruptive of what was going on in the region.

Q Can you get us the altitude?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes.

** Waveland-Pass Christian area.

* * * * *

MR. McCLELLAN: We were at 2,500 feet for most of the time over the
coastline there. When we came into New Orleans we were at 2,500 feet,
and then after New Orleans we briefly went down to 1,700 feet, and then
we went back up to 2,500 feet for the remainder of it.

Q So it was 1,700 feet was the low, and 2,500 feet was the high?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, that was for a short period of time, is what the
pilots told me.